'As Bad as Smoking'... Korean Adults Lead a Sedentary Lifestyle for 9 Hours a Day

WHO Officially Recognizes 'Sitting Disease' Concept
"At Least 150 Minutes of Moderate-Intensity Exercise Per Week"

As adults in South Korea spend more than one-third of their day sitting, concerns have been raised that this behavior is a factor causing various diseases.

According to the Korea Health Promotion Institute (KHEPI) on the 1st, the institute recently stated, "The sedentary behavior time of the public is increasing," and emphasized that "raising public awareness about the importance of physical activity is urgent." Sedentary behavior refers to activities that consume very little energy while sitting. This includes work or study activities done while sitting, as well as leisure activities. Sedentary behavior is known to increase the risk of musculoskeletal disorders, as well as hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has officially introduced the concept of 'sitting disease.' Pixabay

According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency's National Health and Nutrition Survey, the daily sedentary behavior time of adults aged 19 and over increased from 8.3 hours in 2018 to 9.0 hours in 2023. For adolescents, it was found that they spend around 11 hours per day sitting.

Concerns about sedentary lifestyles are not limited to South Korea. Recently, the World Health Organization (WHO) officially introduced the concept of 'sitting disease.' This refers to the negative physical and mental health effects caused by prolonged sitting habits, and WHO classifies it as another type of addiction. Sedentary lifestyle habits are expanding from individual health issues to public health problems affecting society as a whole.

Habitually sitting for more than 6 hours a day not only leads to physical function decline but also increases the risk of premature death. People who sit for long periods have up to a 49% higher risk of early death, which is comparable to the risk from smoking. It is especially detrimental to women's health. A research team from the Victoria Cancer Council in Australia conducted a study on about 130,000 European women and found that higher levels of physical activity reduced the risk of invasive breast cancer by 41%, but longer sitting time increased the likelihood of triple-negative breast cancer by 104%.

To combat sitting disease, WHO recommends at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise or 75 minutes of high-intensity exercise per week. Moderate-intensity physical activity is exercise that allows conversation and causes sweating. Examples include golf, dancing, walking, and cycling. High-intensity physical activity is exercise that makes talking difficult due to heavy breathing, such as running, jump rope, swimming, soccer, and tennis.

KHEPI emphasized, "Lack of physical activity is a serious factor threatening health, recognized by WHO as a leading cause of death, so it is essential to practice the recommended physical activities according to each life cycle."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.